According to The Wall Street Journal, citing its sources, the White House is holding a “comprehensive rethinking” of US policy toward North Korea, including options that are “far from the political mainstream” – from the recognition of North Korea as a nuclear power to military action against Pyongyang.
As the first military hardware associated with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, commonly called THAAD, arrives in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula, the tensions around and within the region seem to be escalating. A number of ongoing crises in South Korea are starting to take their toll, and could have regional and global implications.
On February 23, 2017, Colonel Ren Guoqiang – the representative of the Ministry of Defense of China stated at a regular press conference, that China strongly opposes the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, as it causes serious damage to the strategic aspects of safety and interests of the neighboring countries, including China and Russia, and violates the strategic balance in the region.
One of the most significant events of the last year in Japan was Emperor Akihito’s official speech on national television on August 8, in which he pointed out the possibility of his resignation due to health issues. The exceptional nature of this statement can explain the fact that contradictory information had been leaking to the public for half a year prior to this speech.
In the previous text, dedicated to the investigation of the murder in Kuala Lumpur, we have analyzed the pros and cons of the North Korean track, which, in terms of Pyongyang’s enemies, received confirmation after Malaysian authorities finally announced the cause of death. During the autopsy, traces of a poisonous nerve agent such as VX were found on the face and in the eyes of the dead man. The indicated poisonous substance is the most toxic of substances used as chemical weapons: death occurs in 10-15 minutes.
The US has reiterated its alleged commitment to honoring the “One China” policy under which it is recognized there is only one Chinese government. The policy exists in direct reference to Taiwan and its status as a break-away province from Beijing’s authority.
The BBC’s article, “Trump agrees to honour ‘One China’ policy despite threats,” would report that:
It is not calming down, and it could be said that in the expanding exacerbation, the Korean side and Japanese side are playing equally important roles. Besides, if the authorities are still trying to somehow resolve the problem, Moon Jae-in, the most likely presidential candidate from the opposition, has during his presidential campaign ostentatiously visited the monument to the victims of sexual violence that was recently placed in front of the Japanese Consulate-General in Pusan.
